


Inbetween All The Crazy

by BibliophileNeko



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-01-27 13:10:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21392692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BibliophileNeko/pseuds/BibliophileNeko
Summary: "Do you think it's true?" Natsu whispered conspiratorially, as Mira turned to glance in his direction, brow arched infinitesimally. "About what? That they've killed people?" He nodded eagerly, by now almost on top of the counter in his enthusiasm, though scowling when a dismissive scoff had them looking to see Gray leaning back in his seat, amused scepticism plastered clearly across his features."Don't be a moron, they might be thugs but not killers, Gramps wouldn't have let them in otherwise." Leaving them to squabble over their respective rumours, the barmaid chanced a look to where the newest members of the guild sat, predictably given a wide berth by everyone, furtively examined their differing expressions of tedium, gaze flickeringtowards the redhead, whose features in particular expressed intense apathy despite Juvia's animated chattering.They might have currently been pariahs, given their actions towards everyone prior to joining, but they were proving the bigger gossip, with all sorts of rumours about their questionable pasts flying about, they were an undeniable mystery, and against all her better judgement, Mirajane had never been able to resist a mystery.
Relationships: Erza Scarlet/Mirajane Strauss
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Hello.**

**If anyone has already read this of FF, then you’ll see this is a much, hopefully, more better version of the already edited one that I have on there; I’m never happy with my own writing so I have to constantly make new changes which again, hopefully will result in a much more enjoyable read… hopefully. As the tags suggest, this will be Erza/Mirajane with maybe some more relationships down the line, but primarily theirs will be the main focus, for reasons there will be little to no Jerza interaction, so if readers are hoping for something alone those lines, sorry to disappoint. ** **I did the best I could, given I have no Beta, but things like punctuation are my weakest points, so I apologise for any mistakes you might read and hope you enjoy regardless. I also don’t own Fairy Tail**

* * *

The doors to the guild building slowly opened and those inside turned to see Fairy Tail's main team filtering through, having finally returned from their latest mission Gray gave a smile to Levy who was sitting closest, emerging from her novel just long enough to see them pass, returned the gesture before getting back to her book, leaving him and the others to carry on further into the main area.

  
"Welcome home you guys,"

  
The dark-haired man drifted to the bar, as Mira greeted them with a smile, leaving Wendy and Juvia to move to their table, still chatting happily to themselves, normally if it was any other female, the blue-haired water mage would have been distant and uninterested in getting to know them, having deemed them all potential rivals for her beloved's affections, despite having been told time and time again that no other woman felt anything other than brotherly love towards the ice maker, she still wouldn't listen and so to save arguments they left her to it. In fact, the only person she was nice to of the same gender – save for Erza, was Wendy, because, in her eyes, the Dragonslayer was far too immature to think of romance in any capacity make a move on her man; something the young girl found gross when she learned of the reason why the former Phantom Lord member was the least hostile to her alone.

  
"So how was the mission?" Gray gave an aggravated groan, taking one of the stools dotted along the bar, smiled gratefully at the glass of water she had the considerate foresight to already put down in front of him, snagging it up, took a relieved sip. "Long... very, very long." Making a noise of agreement, Mira brought the quests ledger up from behind the counter, the timeframe for this had been estimated as roughly a week, they had been gone for almost two, so whoever it was they had been up against, must have been tougher than they thought, but something about his tone suggested that the length wasn't the only reason he found the task arduous. "Did you manage to catch the guy?" He nodded, the tiredness clear on his face and Mira couldn’t help the swell of pity at how exhausted he truly looked, when he gave a scoff of derision and shook his head. “The phantom thief,” he stated sardonically, lips quirking into an amused smile and played with the napkin on the counter, “turned out to be nothing more than a tricky little bugger with earth magic, able to copy himself as many time as he wanted, but that’s not before having created an entire network of underground tunnels for us to chase him through,”

“Bet that sucked.” He turned to Cana who was his seatmate, it didn’t surprise him to see the Whiskey bottle clutched in her hand and nodded. “You don’t know the half of it, slippery didn’t cover him, but luckily we had a bit of help and after splitting up, finally caught up to him in Cedar village, where one hit from Taurus saw him bound and ready for the knights.” Both women smiled, though something about his words didn’t quite make sense to her, “How was it you were able to know where he was if he kept managing to mislead you?” Waiting as he finished what was now in his mouth, saw the mild grimace as he placed the glass down and went to speak when a muted explosion cut him off and immediately all eyes went towards the double doors when they burst open again and a screaming fireball came hurtling into the room. The shrieking inferno shot passed the bewildered crowd and into the wall on the other side, crashing right through which made many wince, but given the owner of the flames, wasn’t overly concerned when his normal entrances were just as bombastic; though there was something about this particular entry that gave them slight pause and seconds later, got their answers when loud footsteps saw Erza appear at the top of the steps, a thunderous look of murder on her oddly reddened face which instantly had everyone on high alert; the formidably terrifying redhead was a natural disaster all on her own; not in the same, carefree clumsily endearing way Natsu was, more along the lines of level five danger to life that had everyone smart enough staying indoors to ride out the rampage she brought, now that storm had snuck up on them and all they could do was pray her destruction stayed on the pink-haired young man who had obviously caught her ire. 

Cowardly, but after witnessing some of her previous acts of aggression, they had justified that with self-preservation and so held their breaths, not making a move as she stomped her way further into the hall and over to where the fire wizard was slowly pulling himself through the rubble, helpfully dragging him the rest of the way when he became too slow. Their interaction was observed by all, as a low groan had the barmaid dragging her gaze back to Gray who had uttered the tired sigh, propping his head up and looked wearied by the whole thing. “We met Erza on the way back from her own job, she helped us narrow the search down greatly, otherwise it might have taken longer, but the little tiki-torch just had to decide that pissing her off on the way back was the greatest idea ever. Honestly, I’m surprised she let him get this far if it was me, I’d have dumped the flamebrain into the nearest river hogtied after what he did.”

“And what did he do,” Cana asked, watching the angry woman proceed to beat on the frantically pleading pinkette with increasingly violent strokes, like his desperate apologies served to rile her fury further, until a final stamp of her foot, the floor under him bucked and he was blown straight through the roof, body wedging between the plaster, his legs were left to dangle helplessly which seemed to satisfy her mildly, as she turned and everyone stiffened again when she walked passed them and towards their small group. 

“Put Tabasco sauce into her tea, to try and get her to fight him… half an hour ago,” Mira sucked in through her teeth, knowing just how much the other woman hated spicy stuff, as Cana chuckled lowly, “Explains the face well enough,” just as Erza reached the bar and gifted them all sneers. “I can hear, thank you.” Throwing herself down into the nearest chair her face softened for the briefest of seconds when the snowy-haired woman placed a pitcher of milk in front of her, before turning sullen once more and downed the first glass like a shot of Rum. In a bid to avoid ending up like the fire fool, Gray wisely turned the conversation back to safer topics, as they left her to sooth both her pride and scorched tongue in peace, when it wasn’t long after that he called it a night. His back was aching from all the hours sleeping on a hard floor and given the number of times he had done so in the past, still couldn’t bring himself to remotely enjoy the delight that was camping, so getting to his feet, he gave them all a small smile, unfazed when he only got two in return, turned and headed towards the doors, only to pause when he felt a chill that had nothing to do with his ice, creep down his spine, and having felt this particular sensation many times before, knew all too well what it was so quickened his pace to the exit, before breaking into a sprint when the tell-tale footsteps trailed in his wake.

  
“Gray, my love, wait for Juvia… you didn’t say goodnight… Gray…” Watching as they vanished into the darkness, Cana, now bored again, resumed her drinking, leaving Mira to turn her attention to the still brooding redhead, who had already nearly finished the jug and so moved to get some more; knowing the sensitivity of her taste buds that one wouldn’t do, left it on the side and waited until she had finished her last glass before speaking.

* * *

“So how was your trip?” Erza grunted but amended her answer when she saw the reproachful look coming from the other woman and sighed, placing her glass down, began recounting the mission she had chosen to take; a frankly pointless task, but for the sake of humouring the cheerful blonde, she tried to make the effort. “Despite the fact they had put forth a request for assistance, it seemed my taking the job brought a lot of questions from the good people of Clover Towns national FEMA institution… possibly even a remark or two as to the levels of my sanity, which were not at all appreciated. Honestly, if they’re going to hold such little faith in the ones kind enough to help, why even bother asking in the first place.” Shaking her head in genuine bafflement as to their reactions when she had arrived that morning, and after a lot of repeated confirming that she was, in fact, serious about the mission, - a habit she abhorred above all else, and so was close to turning straight back around, but not before levelling the building they stood in for wasting her time - did they finally have the sense to cease pestering her and let her continue with what it was they wanted. 

“Perhaps they were just surprised that someone had responded. Web Valley is, after all, a formidable place, maybe they just don’t get a lot of offers,” tackling the slice of cake Mira had brought with the second pitcher, Erza shrugged, spearing a piece and bringing it to her mouth. “With those gormless responses, I can see why.” The other woman smiled at the grumpiness that was a staple with the redhead; something she found taxing at first, but now merely found the sourness adorable, leant closer, giving her free hand a small pat. 

  
“At least’s it’s over now, and as far as high risked missions go it seemed pretty quick, so that’s something.” Refraining from mentioning the massive advantage the other woman had in comparison to those who tried something of this scale before, offered a conciliatory smile as Erza bobbed her head, chewing on the delectable slice pensively, reflected miserably, the lack of challenge the task had presented. When she had taken the job, it was mostly down to the excitement that had bubbled upon reading the missive; and the dire warning attached to such a dangerous quest, stirring the rarely stoked passion that came with the prospect of a demanding mission; it’s perilous location and innumerable backstories of unfortunate outcomes for all brave or stupid enough to risk it’s fractured depths, fuelling her eagerness to test her abilities against a place so high risk on the mortality meter, a place that was bound to get her blood pumping in the face of obstacles surely too difficult to overcome. 

  
That had been a resounding no

Mira looked on at the dejected sigh that had come out of nowhere, feature’s creasing with sympathy, before trying to cheer her downcast friend out of the funk she had slipped into, “I bet meeting up with the others was nice though, and you helping them out ensured that they got home sooner…” Trailing off slowly at the look of darkened rage that now replaced the moroseness, as the seated woman replayed the journey in her minds eye, felt her mood slide even further. “Crossing paths those idiots only served to cement the horrible ending to an extremely disappointing and very long waste of my time… except for you, Wendy, you could never be an idiot,” she added as an afterthought, turning to acknowledge the younger girl who had come up to get a drink, looked startled at the insult, before giving a weak smile to the amended statement. “Thanks, I think,” Mira snorted lightly, moving to fetch the lemonade she knew to be the young girls favourite, leaving her alone with the still vexed redhead. 

  
“Hey, Erza?”

  
“Hmm?”

  
There was a brief pause, “I’m sure Natsu didn’t mean to annoy you so much,” wincing at the disbelieving scoff her words prompted, which had the older woman looking on regretfully. “Apologies, Wendy, but we both know the brainless dimwit knew his intentions perfectly. Unfortunately the ability to provoke others really is where he excels, along with the tactlessness and selective hearing, there truly is no limit to his juvenile tendencies and so he got exactly what he deserved." It was lucky he had already left otherwise there might have been an attempted retaliation on his part, and she really didn't want to be responsible for more damage than she already was, as she couldn't say should he have crossed her again, punching him further wouldn't have been out of the question as Mira soon returned with the lemonade and after finishing the last bite, Erza rose to her feet.

“Faultless service, as always Mira,” the barmaid gave a pleased smile at the compliment, “But for now I think I shall retire for the night, Wendy, are you heading out?” Knowing from habit that the younger girl often got a drink to take with her, watched as she blinked a few times before nodding quickly, the older woman gave her a small smile before tucking her stool inwards and reaching into her pocket for some jewels; a small look passed between the pair at the brief exchange, before she stepped back and with an expectant stare that spurred the younger girl into hurrying, Mira watched as the pair made their way to the entrance, the barmaid waiting until they made it to the top of the stairs before calling out. “Erza?”

  
Turning back to face her, there was a brief pause, with Erza looking on questioningly and it was another few seconds when Mira finally responded; smiling sweetly which in turn, caused the other woman’s spine to stiffen, all too aware of what that smile really meant, waited cautiously, “Isn’t there something you’ve forgotten?” Eyes narrowing in confusion, Erza didn’t reply, mind going over their interaction and what she might have possibly done, before eventually shrugging, having no idea, a gesture that didn’t seem to impress the snowy-haired woman who met her baffled stare with an arched brow, before making a point of slowly turning to face the farthest wall where the transgression took place, smiling sardonically when recognition finally flashed behind once clueless eyes.

“Ah,”

“Yes, ah indeed, so… what are you going to do about it?” There really only was one choice she had, and that wasn’t simply to continue home like she wished, so heaving a sigh, faced the partially destroyed wall as those closest watched with mild interest as the solid stone changed state, forming liquid puddles that slowly began to move as though having free will, steadily rising to fill the large gap until there wasn’t an inch left uncovered, before it reverted to its previous form and leaving the wall almost as good as new; there wasn’t anything she could do for the paint, but that really wasn’t her problem, before gifting the observing blonde a pointed look, rolling her eyes at the beaming grin she got in return.

  
“Thank you.” Giggling at the mutters as they both finally left the building, with a final glance to where they had been, Mira returned to her work and gave the person waiting patiently her trademark smile that so many found endearing, still couldn’t help feeling bad for the redheads’ lacking trip, made a promise to properly welcome her back, after she was finished here. 

* * *

Despite having been asleep for over an hour, Erza immediately woke to the sensation of hands, before the bed dipped slightly and the comforting smell of jasmine and sandalwood filled her senses, as she felt arms slide around her waist and the light touch of lips as they pressed against the back of her neck. “Did I wake you?” Feeling hands reach up to cover her own, a few second’s went by and she was about to answer, when a lethargic voice coming from the middle of the bed interjected grumpily for her, “Yes you did, I’ll thank you for that,” followed by a small hiss when Erza nudged the fat lump to be quiet before shifting as the blankets shuffled and soon she was joined by the smaller woman who curled into her. “I don’t know how you can stand to be there for so long,” checking the lacrima clock and seeing it was half one, remained baffled by peoples deliberate choices to stay into the early hours drinking when they could be sleeping, and even more puzzling was the lack of hangovers when they appeared the next day, ready in preparation for round two, as Mira snuggled a little closer, a smile playing tiredly on her lips.

  
“I wasn’t meant to originally; Kinana wasn’t feeling well and so Master asked if I could help, seeing as there is nobody with enough experience and practise to hold Cana away from the cellar, though he did say she should be better by tomorrow; he’ll have to get someone else to cover the breakfast shift because I’ll be rather busy.” The suggestive tone, heavy in her ear, had Erza's grip tighten, as Mira lifted to face her, and though it was dark, could see the coy expression as she stared at her through hooded eyes.

"Oh? Is that so?" She asked, playing along and watching the blonde nod slowly. “Hmm-mm, I heard the most terrible story this evening; that a certain someone’s mission didn’t quite inspire the joy she was looking for, and so knowing it was in my power to help, figured that a morning of doing absolutely anything she wanted might be a start in cheering her up.” Feeling a spark of desire push against the fog of sluggishness at the picture her words painted, glanced at the ineffable beauty who smirked like the devil she was, eyes gleaming with promise before leaning down and squeaked when she was pulled bodily against the lithe one under her, lifting her head, brought her lips to meet the redhead’s own in a lazy but loving kiss, wasn’t long before the sound of exaggerated retching forced them apart.

“Really? I am in the room; do you people have no shame?” Looking to where the outline of the small figure was sat glaring at them, Erza gifted the chiding voice another, harder nudge. “Then go sleep in the living room,” smiling at the near-hysterical refusal her suggestion caused. “And sleep with that ratty, threadbare old thing? I shall do nothing of the sort.” Referring to the thin blanket she had tucked away in the side drawer, that admittedly had seen better days, but was the only thing besides the quilt on the bed she had, so gave the complaining figure a mild sneer. “Then shut up; we’re not even doing anything so if you do not wish for that furry little mouth to be taped closed, quit bothering us and close your eyes.” There was a full moment of silence, where both women could feel the outrage coming from the small figure, before eventually harsh grumbles and a purposefully shredding sound as claws found purchase against vulnerable fabric, Erza scowled when at last he found another suitable spot to lay down before proceeding to fall quiet; either taking her advice or giving her the beginnings of silent treatment (likely the latter) allowing them the peace of the room once more.

  
Settling back into the covers, it wasn’t long before they found themselves drifting off back to sleep; the day having worn both of them out, simply contented to hold each other as Mira felt the fleeting touch of a final kiss to the side of her head, she let it rest on the taller woman’s shoulder, breathing in the scent she had missed, letting the odd combination of new grass and vanilla cake soothe her, she allowed the sleep to take hold, wrapped tight in the safe embrace of the one so very dear to her.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. **  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Christ this took a while. **

**If there has been one thing I have learnt while staring at this for the better part of a month, is that a smut writer I am not, the fact it took so long just proves that hence why its lateness in putting up... by a vast margin. Hopefully I did a passable job, but if it sucks by other authors standards (how they can make this look so effortless leaves me envious) then I apologise and will strive to do better in future; as I do have plans to write more but fear it will kill me in the process, either way it is here, I can now joyfully move on with the other chapters, I have also been over this twice and even turned to good old Grammarly for help, but still know that my punctuation will be bad, so I can only ask that people be nice enough to ignore and just enjoy. **

**Thank you.**

* * *

Sounds of loud thumping broke through the sleeping woman's much needed rest, parting the heavy curtain and prematurely forcing Mira into the land of the living, a wide yawn escaped her breaking the calm of the room as she sluggishly pushed herself upright, rubbing away the sleep lingering in her eyes before tiredly looking to where her bed mate lay sleeping, only to frown when she saw the left side vacant just as another noise – a crashing this time had her turning towards the door, brain slowly catching up to her now awakened status, put the two together and with a roll of her eyes, wondered what it was Erza was doing now, climbed out of the bed to go find out. It was halfway down the hall when she had to stop as something decidedly heavy came flying out the entrance to the kitchen, wincing when it smashed against the wall, landing on the floor with a clatter, cast a glance to the sad-looking pan that lay mangled beyond repair and a lot blackened, continued into the kitchen to find the redhead sitting at the table a dark scowl firmly in place.

“Erza?”

The other woman said nothing as Mira slowly entered the room and made her way towards her, mild concern in her eyes at the lack of response, reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, the touch seemingly shocking the redhead as she looked up, surprise passing her features as if having only just realized the blonde was there. “Who burns eggs?” The question, seemingly from out of nowhere, didn’t come as a shock to the blonde who turned to where the stove sat, spying the mass of shells that lay scattered about and the eggs themselves having been abandoned, looking a lot more charred than what they were supposed to be, thankfully didn’t need to employ too much thought into figuring out her intentions. It staggered her just how bad Erza was when it came to cooking; the only time she could recall herself having been this terrible was when she was first learning, mostly by trial and error and so had ruined many a meal during that time; luckily all that was a thing of the past but it truly awed her at the disaster Erza could produce simply by putting a pan onto boil, heck Wendy had more talent in the kitchen than her older sister and Carla half the time didn’t even let her near a cooker, but knew such observations wouldn’t be appreciated and so turned back to the petulant redhead, rubbed her arm gently, a pitying but sympathetic smile gracing her lips.

“You do, sweetie,”

Before drifting away to deal with what she assumed, was supposed to be breakfast, leaving the scowling woman to mope on her failed – and didn’t seem to be changing anytime soon – endeavour from within her little bubble of despondency, politely ignoring the mumbled curses that fell from petulant lips as she got to work sorting out the mess. Ten minutes later, and managing to salvage the situation, both were eating a plain but passable meal of toast. With the eggs sufficiently burned beyond what she felt brave enough to eat, Mira did them the only thing Erza hadn’t yet managed to destroy, sitting at the table, paused a moment, eyes flickering to where Erza sat. “You need to go shopping,” remembering how pathetically bare the fridge had been on inspection as from her seat and nibbling on a particularly crunchy corner, Erza shrugged at the almost imperious demand, not seeing any point as having already proven she couldn’t cook, felt it would be a waste of both her time and money, that could be better spent keeping the many restaurants she lived out of, in business, and shrugged again. “I think I’ll pass,” though it seemed Mira hadn’t heard her refusal, or she had and was choosing to ignore it.

“We can both go later; I’ll help you pick things that are easy to cook.” The glaringly obvious truth that eggs were practically one of the simplest things to prepare, lingering rather mockingly between them, the redhead heaved a sigh and took a larger bite of her food, chewed resignedly knowing that there was no way out of it, gave a cursory nod as they continued eating in companionable silence.

* * *

“Where’s Whiskers?” Having failed in her attempts at the mornings meal, Erza at least felt capable enough to handle the washing without causing calamity and was drying the cups when she heard the question in regards to the fleabag, snorted inelegantly before throwing the towel down and turned to face her, leaning against the counter, “Have you forgotten what day it is? By now he’s most likely overdosed on chicken and is lying in a hole someplace sleeping it off.” The blondes lips twitched faintly, but then thinned as to not encourage the cavalier remarks; when it came to the little feline, she knew the woman cared greatly for him despite the many threats she liked to make and remembered it was farmers market day, so would probably be traversing the crowds and perusing the many stalls set up, a passing image of him trotting about looking for bargains eliciting a slight a giggle from her.

“I think it’s sweet how you give him an allowance,” across from her, Erza pulled a face “I assure you; it is only to stop him from bothering me, it’s simpler this way, I don’t get annoyed and he doesn’t die, It’s merely a deal of convenience.” Mira made a noise of mild disbelief, half amused at the length’s she would go in denying her affection for the tiny cat instead chose to concentrate on the opportunity his absence created. “So… that means it’s just you and me… all alone?” Keeping her focus on the redhead, waited for any sign that she had caught on to her provocative question, but it seemed the suggestive query and even the manner it was spoken was lost on the oblivious woman, having been looking down, missed it all entirely, a mildly pensive frown marring her features, Mira gave an idle thought as to what she might have been thinking, but ultimately shook her head at the hopeless case in front of her before getting to her feet. Erza was jarred from her ruminations on gluttonous tabby’s when arms slid around her shoulders and looked to find Mira now standing in front of her, slightly thrown by the sudden closeness watched the smaller woman lean in.

“So we’re all alone,” she repeated, her tone just a fraction lower, more throatier, trying to convey her intentions a little more clearer to the woefully obtuse redhead who stared bemused, about to respond that his lack of presence did signify that they were indeed by themselves, when her brain - having been quiet throughout the conversation - decided to interject, lest she continued letting her mouth speak on their behalf, cautioned her to be smart about this and to look more carefully. So heeding the advice, allowed her gaze to wander the beauty before her, the languid inspection picking up on the darker shade that tinted normally light eyes before falling to soft lips, and the plump lower half trapped enticingly between pearly teeth; the soft flesh worried so innocently, elicited a shiver down her spine prompting her to shift slightly giving Mira the chance to press closer, the feel of her slender body as she leant against the taller woman suggestively, coupled with the equal parts hunger and enticement married behind the deep sensual gaze, finally sparked comprehension within her witless self. Mira’s lip slowly curled into a knowing smirk upon spying the flash of recognition behind amber eyes, illuminating the whiskey hues beautifully, gave a slow nod when their gazes once again met.

“There we go, smart girl.”

A beat passed, before a scoff broke the silence and rolling her eyes at the remark, reached an arm around the slender back and dragged her closer, forcing the barmaid onto tiptoes who didn’t seem put out by the new position, let her arms tighten around the slim but strong neck, a teasingly smug smirk that Erza was determined to get rid of playing about her mouth, darted down, lips eagerly slanting over those of the smaller woman’s snuffing out the laughter as hands began to roam; the one around her back dropping to rest upon the curve of her rear, the other travelling up towards silken locks as the demon purred when lithe fingers sunk into the thick stands, caressing gently, nails gently scraping along her scalp. The soothing action caused her to bite down, earning a similar grunt of her own, made no move, however, to release the strip of flesh held captive between her teeth, only finally letting go to pull back and gauge the other woman’s reaction. Erza slowly opened her eyes to find the blonde watching her, with Mira’s breath hitching at the raw lust that simmered just under the blackened orbs, having provoked the carnality that had been lying peacefully dormant, braced herself for the ardent ferocity that was to follow as soon she found herself yanked forcefully forwards, mouths and teeth smashing together once more in a heated and wild kiss that would set the scene for the next few hours.

* * *

Mira’s fingers fisted the sheets, a breathy whimper falling from her lips, followed by a louder cry as she strained to look at the head situated between her thighs. Having returned back to their room, the blonde was promptly thrown onto the bed and so far, had yet to move, unable to due to the other woman’s unyielding torment upon her body; the redhead determined in leaving no inch of her skin untouched, subjected her lover to all that been stirred up inside. An onslaught of her fervent passion so great that Mira could swear it pulled her under anew each time and in so many different ways, moaned when the tongue working itself inside her pushed up, hitting a particularly sensitive spot that made her hips jerk ineffectively against the hands pinning them down, a slight pause with Erza lifting her head, a wicked grin appearing at the sight of the dishevelled devil in her grasp.

“D-don’t stop…” She gasped out, chest heaving with exertion, the redhead’s attention was momentarily arrested by the bountiful mounds, small pink nipples tight with arousal and coated with a light sheen of perspiration that cast a glow on porcelain skin, she didn’t think there was a greater sight then seeing the feared demon writhing so helplessly under her, a sense of self-satisfied pride that she was the only one to have ever gotten to see such a vision, mercifully obliged the wanton pleas that fell from breathless lips and lowered her head again flattening her tongue to lick a stripe up sodden folds, pressing against the bud at the top; a low groan followed, legs falling slack around her, Erza wound her arm around the left before throwing it over her shoulder opening the demon up for more as she suckled greedily at the swollen nub, the blondes breathing staggered, her hips desperately yearning to move, yet were still held fast and so it was all Mira could do to suffer the deliciously sweet torture that was driving her higher and higher to a breaking point she felt so close, but couldn’t quite reach until Erza gave her more.

After a while and much to her growing displeasure, Erza soon found the sweet nectar harder to come by, having been relentless in lapping up as much as she could and as quickly, had to curl her tongue to draw out what little remained, fingers digging into the meat of her thighs pulled the blonde further onto her tongue as she pushed up, so single minded in her endeavour she barely felt the harsh pull of her hair as Mira frantically tried to reach that peak, but still fell infuriatingly short, attempted to direct her to where she desperately needed the redhead to be, a hint she seemed to realize or perhaps came to the conclusion herself that this way no longer worked for the other woman soon pulled away resulting in a groan of protest from the tightly wound demon, but just as swiftly as she had stopped, Erza scooped the smaller woman up and into her lap, arm tightly banding around her back, the other hand hurriedly working its way between their bodies, wasted no time in sliding two fingers deep inside the warm cavern; feeling the sudden intrusion, Mira’s grip tightened considerably, her breath reduced to nothing but ragged pants clenched around the welcome intruders, feeling their presence fill a fundamental part that had been begging for completion, rolled her now free hips in a wordless gesture that Erza took to set a punitive rhythm, whimpered when the slim digits begin to move.

The air was filled with a cacophony of low moans and pleas as Mira writhed in the redheads arms; lewd sounds of fingers as they drove in and out of a saturated core mingled with the breathless mantra’s, scraping along velvety walls Erza couldn’t help the groan as the other woman’s essence dripped down her wrist and she desperately wanted to lick every inch of it up, but knew she couldn’t stop, instead threw her weight behind each thrust, absolute determination to see her goddess come undone the unstoppable force that saw her quicken her pace, lowered her head, mouth clamping over a hardened peak, drew in as much of the supple flesh as she could and pulled harshly, the forceful suction – laced with a slight twinge of pain, prompted a breakout of goosebumps that decorated the exposed pale skin, a keening whine as the smaller woman dropped her head down onto a shoulder, overwhelmed by the sensations attacking her hyper sensitive body but would die if they were to stop, breathed hard through each shiver, hips lurching forwards when a calloused thumb found the slippery bud and furiously began to swipe. Finally after what felt like an age, the blonde could feel the tension start to mount drastically, lifting her head she gripped hold of Erza’s with both hands, urging the other woman to look at her, seeing her reflection in blown-out eyes that smouldered with so much predacious lust and unadulterated desire, the intensity of which was enough to overcome her completely and finally allow her to reach the nirvana she had been frantically chasing.

Strong thighs clamped tightly when deft fingers curled deeply inside, hitting upon the small patch and pushing with furious intent that had her seeing stars, a strangled sob tore from abused vocal cords, the long hours of pleasurable torture accumulating into a single sweeping surge that saw her crest and fall headfirst into a blissful euphoria, gripped her lover like an anchor amidst a tumultuous maelstrom, clutched tight as she rode the waves of ecstasy crashing and rolling over her like a riptide threatening to pull her further into the abyss of delirious rapture, sticky wetness spilled in abundance, her exhausted body finally giving up the last of its treasures to a most voracious and persisting Dragon who wasted no time in claiming its spoils, soon found herself spread out as the redhead pounced upon her quivering form, licking every drop of the viscid ambrosia from trembling thighs reverently, tongue broad and steady and eager, continued to feast on her like a banquet until she finally had to muster the energy to drag her insatiable lover away.

* * *

“Please— no more,” wincing when the last stroke bordered on discomfort, smiled a little in relief when Erza finally let her go, moving to hover over her, waited until their gazes met to pointedly make a show of bringing her hand to her lips where a smattering of Mira’s arousal still lingered; the demon watching entranced as the redhead slowly cleaned her fingers, a low groan as she took in the tongue swirling around the thumb, recalling with a high degree of satisfaction just what that thumb had done not so long ago, felt a throb take hold throughout her still overly sensitised body, but far too drained to do anything about it lifted her arm and weakly tugged on the hand being used to tease her, Erza paused her ministrations to take in the beautiful mess below and chuckled before obliging and falling to settle next to her, listening to the laboured breathing as Mira slowly came down from her high and yawned not a second later.

“Tired?” A slow nod as silence followed, before the bed dipped and without needing to see what was happening Mira shuffled back into the awaiting arm, as it settled over her waist, hand splaying on her stomach, held securely as she soon felt the bone-deep fatigue quickly start to set in and closed her eyes, a drowsy but contented smile when a finger began to lazily sweep up and down her arm, the touch lulling her further into slumber, not feeling quite as worn out, Erza settled for watching as Mira slowly drifted off, a glance towards the Lacrima clock informing her they had at least a little while before anyone truly bothered them, propped her head up for the wait. Before joining Fairy Tail she had found the idea of love an abhorrent one. A massively inconsequential deterrent to what truly mattered in life, and that was to get stronger, having observed those already afflicted, lose themselves to their innate flaws - ones that would have remained hidden, had they not been so overcome by the horrible disease, and allowing others to get close and distract, to bring out the worst in them, only for the fleeting bond to sever, leaving those behind, nothing but former shades of their once selves with no possible chance of becoming that person again. It was this that which reaffirmed her belief that love - in any form - held no place in her life; until Mira came along and that once steadfast creed, at one point an indomitable mountain, slowly eroded until the jagged edges that surrounded the harsh peak softened, allowing the takeover mage to sneak her way past, and just like her sweetheart demeanour fooled only the most gullible, she hadn't thought much of it until the snowy-haired beauty had breached the walls, before her more dominant personalities took over, hammering the rest away until finally she was left standing in the middle of a crumbled keep and feeling wildly unbalanced. But instead of rebuilding, she dared let Mira get even closer, and now... as she continued running the pads of her fingers over silken skin, she was endlessly glad that she did, as if her Igneous scales had undergone a metamorphic conversion, so too did she morph into something more malleable, eventually becoming a person she once would have derived great pleasure in scorning, but as she glanced down at the slumbering Mira; seeing her peaceful smile and how close her body touched hers, she would have gladly let her old self say whatever she wanted, because now the only thing she would have felt was pity. 

An even breath broke the silence, as Mira sighed and shuffled closer, falling still with another small mumble, Erza smiled before deciding to follow suit; falling back slowly onto her pillow and as if sensing this, Mira turned completely until her upper half was nearly draped over her own, as the redhead breathed in the deep scent of Jasmine and Vanilla, resisting the urge to nibble as her favourite scent permeated her senses merely slid her arm around the lithe waist and feeling a sense of calm and contentment slowly wash over her, as well as the vestiges of tiredness, Erza tucked the barmaid into the crook of her neck, feeling a sleepy mumble press into her collarbone, pressed a light kiss to her hair and with and like the vision of the cat's aghast expression upon his return, aiding her, found sleep a lot easier to come by, as they slept in their bubble of private silence away from the world a few hours more.

* * *


	3. Chapter Three

**Well... this had been hell. Like, literal ninth circle level type of hell, I didn't think I could ever hate something so trivially silly as bunch of words before, but wow did they suck big time; the amount of times I wrote and then rewrote stuff was just insane and to be honest, I think this really is just a filler chapter until the next one, which, luckily I know will come a lot faster seeing as there is only the necessity of a few tweaks and not a complete do over like this one, and even at the end I think it just started to slide; though that might have been my waning motivation for this and so I apologise for the decline if that is the case. (it is) Anyway, I shall leave it here and those who read I hope you enjoy and I don't in anyway own FT**

**Any mistakes I also apologise for here.**

* * *

Waking up to the dulcet tones of her little housemate who had returned from his morning foray, only to find them sleeping sans the nightwear neither could be bothered to put on, his piercingly consistent grumbles served to prove a very effective if not a tremendously annoying alarm which saw them finally get up, and after showering and changing, Mira decided to go and see if her siblings had returned yet, leaving them alone, though not for long; scandalized by their inconsiderate napping arrangements and the lackadaisical attitude she had to his complaints about snoozing in the nude, (though he slept naked too if they wanted to get technical about this) he had left once again; going out further into the forest if his parting words were anything to go by, catching ‘Happy’ and ‘fish’ knew that he must have been plotting something in regards to Natsu’s fur brained partner and said nothing about it as he wandered off.

  
Everyone needed a hobby

  
Fortunately, his walkout meant that she once more had the place to herself, so using her aloneness as an opportunity to make a start on the project she had been toying with for the past fortnight, made herself some tea before heading towards the back of the house, pausing when a voice that sounded a tad too much like his haughtiness elbowed its way unceremoniously into the forefront of her brain, chiding her for leaving the sheets in such a deplorable state and knowing it would only come back on her twofold when the body to that disembodied nagging made its return, exhaled heavily but made a detour to the bedroom, gathering the mussed bedding and placed them in the wash, was satisfied the irksome voice had been appeased when it no longer rang shrilly inside her head, resumed her trek towards the room that had become her unintentional den. She had never envisioned on this becoming anything other than a simple place of solitude, as she pushed on the door and made her way inside, a space belonging purely to her when she needed to escape the drudgery of the day, could come here and shut the rest of the world away; but from the bookcases that lined the wall that included genres not suited to her tastes at all, it was clear that idea had been nothing but an idealistic fantasy.

* * *

  
_Having been outed as a bibliophile at some point, it wasn’t long after that she was accosted by Levy; the affectionately dubbed bookworm had been annoyingly effervescent when she approached her in the guildhall, apparently having disregarded her fear in the face of their shared passion, joyfully (and rather loudly) proceeded to interrogate the horrified redhead who had been very aware of the stares their interaction garnered, had no choice but to endure the quizzing as the smaller woman rambled on about her literary assemblage, asking her all sorts and simply overwhelming in her enthusiasm, until finally the brazen question of whether she could see for herself, was voiced. Silence subsequently followed the bold request, as Erza held her gaze, unsure as what to say but found herself slowly becoming incredulously amused by the small chit staring at her with hopeful wide eyes; well what could she possibly say to that? Did she give in to the visceral urge of denying her? Scoff at the audacity that the other woman ever thought her solicitous enough to allow such a thing. Did she scratch the rising itch to severely insult the timorous little mouse, give her a reminder as to just why it was, the younger woman was right to be frightened of her and take delight in the skittishness that should have been there from the start, returning to its rightful place and replace the gratingly cheerful look adorning her cute little face. The temptation was right there, the words on the tip of her tongue, clawing to be released, and by now she would have already had the unfortunate soul either breaking down or pissing themselves before her, depending on her mood, had it not been for a certain grouchy bastard she could feel imposingly a few feet away from them._

  
_Her gaze cut to where Gajeel sat and found herself suppressing the smirk at his insincere attempt at pretending he wasn’t listening to them talk; oh, he had the act of appearing disinterested down perfectly, not looking at all in their direction, unlike the other gormless dimwits who seemed to find their interaction the highlight of their sad little day, simply reclined in the booth he had taken over, glaring at nothing and generally looking his usual antagonistic self; but having spent years in his company and observing all his little quirks had long been able to discern the difference between true apathy and feigned boredom and right now it seemed her favourite little iron eater was very much interested in what they had to say. Studying his posture as he lounged carelessly, her eyes zeroed in the casual way his arms rested across the back of the seat, but his fingers were stiff and tapping the leather with hurried agitation, his right foot followed in similar vein though not as quickly and perhaps his biggest tell was the way his ears twitched imperceptibly as he focused on drowning out the noise around in order to hear them properly. He might have fooled the others with his veneer of indifference, but to those who knew him, it was clear he was apprehensive, and didn’t that make for a fascinating picture._

  
_She honestly wasn’t sure why he seemed so invested in repairing the damage his previous actions had caused, but as she watched him try his hardest not to turn their way, she had the mounting suspicion it had something to do with the feeble little pipsqueak still chattering away in front of her. It hadn’t gone unnoticed, his shadowing of the smaller woman; materialising in the peripheral of wherever she happened to be under the guise of unexpected happenstance, anyone astute enough to put the two ‘coincidences’ together clearly wasn’t brave enough to voice it, but as his seemingly dogged resolve finally crumbled and he chanced a furtive glance in their direction, only to catch her smirking gaze, she held no such compunctions in facing his wrath and from the brief widening of his eyes at having been rumbled, he knew that as well, taking in the mirth flickering deviously behind her amber hues, prompting a fierce scowl and her smirk broadened when he abruptly turned away to gift some poor fool on the other side, the brunt of his newly found annoyance, leaving her to the matter at hand, as she eventually turned her attention back to the younger mage before her who had ceased speaking when it became clear she had lost the other woman’s attention. Unsure of what to do and feeling a sense of the entrenched trepidation slither through at the thought of even attempting to interrupt whatever had stolen the redhead’s concentration away from her, waited rather anxiously, unable to stop the worried wringing of her hands no matter how hard she tried until at last, the other woman finally deigned to turn back her way._

  
_After what seemed like, the longest silence in history, in which Levy was sure she imagined every possible scenario of her demise with each vociferous thump of her pounding heart, the tightly wound tension was mercifully brought to an end when Erza gave her a small nod of her head, and much to the bookworms great astonishment, agreed to her request. A full minute more passed as Levy stared up at her dumbstruck, and despite having asked, clearly wasn’t expecting a positive response, with the tardy reaction drawing another smirk from the crimson-haired mage, one which swiftly vanished when the wallflower finally found her voice, and not at all interested in listening to her prattling gratitude, quickly tuned her out once more. Truth was, Erza couldn’t care less about appeasing anyone in this disgustingly chummy little guild; Gajeel was the only one she really had any modicum of fondness for and her continued coldness might reflect poorly on his bizarre attempts and so with a silent vow to make him sweat for this, offered a temporary olive branch in the face of her aversion by letting this one person into her most sacred space._

  
_Her open act of civility seemed to bring about two similar reactions from two people in particular: one, being the most obvious, was Gajeel, the often pugnacious iron eater was still feigning his aura of composure but had a look of concealed appreciation that was atypical on his normally aggressive features, it was a look she didn’t realise he could harbour and was rather weird to witness really so turned away, towards the next person who had caught her attention, as her gaze travelled in the direction of the bar and to Mira, who oddly enough had been the other person to look thankful by her uncommon act of altruism. Having been at least trying to look as though she wasn’t eavesdropping like the rest, the barmaid had been by her place behind the counter, washing glasses with a practised ease that would have been normal to anyone looking, but the deliberate slowness and slight tilt of her head, indicated her own invested curiosity into their conversation, following with a poorly feigned ear, it wasn’t until she heard the consent did Erza observe the upper tension in her shoulders melt away, easing out of her muscles along with the wariness that was almost insultingly (If not justified) clear on her delicate face, all of it left her in one long relieved breath. The inexplicable reaction prompted some minor bafflement from the redhead, whose gaze had been trained studiously on the other woman, when their eyes suddenly met, as lifting her head from her task, only to lock eyes with the taller woman who had been watching her carefully, greatly alarmed the waitress who had thought she had been discreet enough in her endeavours, now looked startled in the face of being caught, could do nothing but hold her gaze, before finally offering her a wide smile._

  
_Erza was momentarily taken aback at the vibrancy the smile exuded; the steadfast sentiment that lay behind the gesture was one of complete sincerity, giving her already luminous features even more of an incandescent grace that highlighted the inherent friendliness and tender-heartedness the woman was known for, as she directed it at her of all people, coupled with the profound spark of… what was that? That wasn’t… pride, was it? That shone like tiny little Lapis Lazuli and was more than enough to unsettle her, so quickly turning away, severed their brief stare off, not once cursing the fact she ceded first, tried to push down the sudden queerness that had erupted inside her stomach, like a vein of water spilling from an aquifer, pointedly ignored the woman as she concluded her conversation with the now overly excited Levy, and hurriedly left the hall before she even had the breath to pointlessly thank her one more time._

* * *

Fast forward to today, and the once intended sanctuary had become a veritable hotspot for people with serious space-invading issues. Understandable, of course, Mira had done a remarkable job with the renovations, having broached the subject with her one day, made the innocuous request of trying something new, though on reflection that might have been her first mistake, as eager as she was to avoid endless discussions on swatch patterns, didn’t realise the monster she would unleash when giving the other woman carte blanch on all executive decisions and that admittedly was her own fault. The second and perhaps not so much a blunder, as it was a problem, was people knowing just _who_ to ask when it came to using their home as a function room, having long already worked out they would have no luck with her, turned to the softer choice as Mira, unfortunately, was blessed with the inability to say no, was continuously preyed upon for her hospitable nature, with the opportunistic degenerates knowing full well she’d hardly ever refuse them; honestly, it was the kind of underhandedness that would have impressed her, had it not been at her expense and a quick once over seemed to hammer in the unhappy fact that this room was no longer her own.

  
Everyone who came here always left a little something to symbolize their presence: Levy, who was her main offender, often left behind many a book when undertaking yet another research project and had been too scatter-brained to take them with her again, those annoyingly finding their way to her shelves, along with the incurably dreary design magazines Mira enjoyed so much that cluttered her neatly organized layout, yet didn’t have the heart to remove, right down to the blasted comics Natsu childishly enjoyed so much, they too managing to sneak their way in and it made her wonder what had become of her if she felt no inclination to use them for the fireside. All these assorted infractions tarnishing her cherished collection, items that had had no place in the natural sophistication of the refurbished room, and yet, seemed to fit more seamlessly then what she would have expected them to, even Wendy’s little doll on the sofa didn’t seem so out of place, as she continued onwards to where her destination lay.

A Mahogany brown chesterfield that resided at the other end of the room; another piece that Mira felt was needed in order to fully encapsulate the recent maturity the room had experienced and now demonstrated; in her opinion, the bulky thing was far too imperial and not at all to her tastes, but the other woman seemed to be fond of it and so refrained from voicing that disputing thought, as she gently sank into the padded chair and after a few minutes in which she had gathered all that she needed for her current purpose, found that now she here, didn’t quite know where to start.

  
It wasn’t that she had fully imagined herself doing this, not until very recently when the idea finally gained enough momentum that she found herself with the motivation to actually be sitting there, she wasn’t Lucy after all and yet it was the blonde who had unknowingly inspired this entire idea when writing about her own adventures; only, the longer she stared at the sheaf of untouched papers that lay before her, as blank as the matter currently floating around her brain, the more her lack of creative talent became markedly clear, and not for the seventh time since that little kernel had burrowed its way into her head did she have to ask herself, just why she wanted to follow in the younger woman’s path and write down her own experiences.

  
What could she possibly gain from attempting a potentially lengthy task when it was obvious, she was no novelist, was it a moment of fancy, perhaps? Being more enamoured with the idea of writing for the sake of it, rather than any actual need, but if that had been the case then she would have given up on it by now and so knew it wasn’t something decided on a whim. A deeper reason, then, a cathartic outlet in the form of putting quill to paper and simply scribbling down what came to her, that could have been a reason, and perhaps there were other motives as to why she was sat there about to give herself the biggest migraine in recent years, but for now, a sense of liberation was the one she was going for, as she remained focused on the unblemished parchment a moment longer, trying to find the starting point. That singular moment which she could write and the rest would simply follow; falling back in her chair, head tilted skywards as if the ceiling would hold the divine answer to her quandary, slowly began to unwind the reel that was her memories, reaching further back until she touched upon the edge of what she could remember, before staring into the oblivion of a life that had been cut short, toeing the line that separated the old and the new and it was then clarity over where to begin, finally came to her, and with a soft smile in thanks to the unexpected muse who gifted her the answer, redirected her attention to the front and resolutely took up her quill.

  
A calming silence followed after that; descending over the room and lending a tranquil atmosphere to the process, broken only by the low but consistent scratching as Erza began her narration into a life that, if not witnessed, then could only be read to be truly believed.

* * *


	4. Chapter Four

* * *

Darkness

  
That was the first thing the small girl registered upon regaining consciousness; vision blurred, and entire body gripped with lethargic inertia it took a decent amount of carefully measured blinking – her eyes stung fiercely, making each attempt monumental in effort – before the fuzziness began to recede and it was another few minutes of trying to clear the fog that blanketed her head, before she could muster the strength to move. Carefully pushing herself upright, a whimper found its way from her lips as the movement resulted in a harsh throbbing beat about the inside of her skull, and placing her hand down for balance, cried out when a rush of bone-jarring agony exploded throughout her right arm like wildfire; the pain clearing whatever haziness still lingered and pulling the limb closer proved to be an epic mistake when the burning increased twofold at the abrupt motion, tears springing to her eyes as her entire arm pulsed and flared mercilessly, that it made the pounding in her head feel tame in comparison. Doing her best to endure the agony ravaging at her arm and feeling the weariness start to seep back into her bones, feeling rather weak wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry. Or perhaps sleep, or both… could she do both? Instead tried to breath as calmly as her shaking body would allow, wondered how she could stop the torturous ache holding her entire limb hostage when a shrill howl from above tore that question clean from her thoughts.

Head snapping up, wide eyes frantically darted back and forth across the blackened sky as a second eldritch shriek ripped through the air, the new cry, coarser and holding far more anger than its predecessor rolled across the heavens like malevolent thunder, resonating down to the ground and she was unable to stop the terrified scream when the floor under her began to shake; great, jarring tremors sending a very clear statement to all unfortunate to be within range, proudly declaring the might and power this incorporeal being possessed, was not only something to admire, but also a thing to fear, and fear it she did. Seconds later, a tremendous silhouette, large enough to block out the sun, (if such a thing would ever shine again) descended to accompany the unearthly roar. Considerable wings parted the obsidian clouds, cutting through the unmovable smog like fingers through water and her breath hitched when she was finally able to see the caller in all its terrifying glory, the monstrous being adding its own contribution to the harsh symphony of snarls and additional roars, each menacing sound fighting to be the loudest, it filled her with a deeply entrenched sense of terror that saw her frozen in place. Never once taking her gaze off the titanic creature that had now begun an unhurried flight overhead, producing the occasional dissonant screech that echoed across the vast sky; a sound that would plague her nightmares until the end, remained as still as possible, not even daring to shake the bug crawling over her hand, held herself with rigid urgency as it delivered one final vitriolic scream and turned away.

Taking off in the opposite direction, slow but steady strokes carrying it further into the distance, she made no effort to move still, fear and paranoia insisting it would return should she take a step, refrained from even breathing until the massive figure was eventually swallowed by the obscure haze, it was only then did she allow herself to relax. Body slumping against a nearby tree, released the shaky breath held trapped, immediately feeling the consequences that moment of withheld oxygen created when her head turned slightly, nearly disrupting her seated equilibrium, had to close her eyes and fight the uncontrollable spasms of her heart that was knocking against her ribs with a force that could be considered painful.

_‘Breathe in – one… two… three… breath out –’ again ‘Breath in – one… two… three… breath out –_’ repeating the silent mantra until finally the frantic palpitations that fluttered uncomfortably against her chest died down, allowing her to breathe more calmly. It was only after she managed to get her breathing under control, did she open her eyes again, casting a glance about her surroundings and what she saw threatened to steal all the air from her lungs indefinitely, as she took in, with horrified silence, the devastation that lay around her.

Trees that once stood strong and healthy with flourishing vitality now sat as twisted and charred shades of their former selves, branches full of leaves now lay bare, the tiny offshoots gnarled like claws ready to lash out and ensnare hapless victims who drew too close, hung close to trunks that wept from gaping wounds that cut deep into their bases and the ground that should have been as equally green had been so thoroughly scorched she didn't think anything would grow again, residual heat trapped under the surface making it difficult to keep her feet down, as she cast a glance towards her naked feet and wondered just when she had lost her shoes, but ultimately gave it no further thought in the face of more pressing things continued her inspection of the carnage around her, finally reaching its conclusion when her grim perusal took her back in the direction of where the savage clash was the loudest, a few seconds of brief contemplation before struggling to get to her feet.

Still unsure about what was happening didn't have to understand fully to know that finding some form of protection was now the most important thing; if whatever had the power to bring damage on a scale that saw unrecognizable destruction for miles in every direction, was to make a return, there would be nothing she could do to defend herself, her arm emitting a discomforting twinge in twisted agreement to that rather distressing fact, serving as a reminder to the detriment her injury presented, and with the visceral feeling this hellish nightmare had not yet reached an end knew that wasting time was something she could ill afford and began to lift herself with the help of the tree; using her dominant arm to pull herself upright, slowly clambered to her feet, wobbling when a second bout of vertigo swept over her, frittered away a precious few minutes trying to overcome the unsteadying dizziness, forcing as many calming breaths as she could muster, didn't linger once the spell had eventually passed and took off as soon as she felt steady enough; a couple of steps to test her balance before adopting a consistent but cautious pace - mindful of keeping to the edges as to avoid the clearing - edged her way towards the small trail she had spotted earlier, casting one last furtive glance around when she reached the path, wiggled her way through the clumping of semi-charred hedges and vanishing into the thinning undergrowth, with the area falling still after her departure, before the sound of heavy rustling broke the momentary quiet and the shadow the small girl had been oblivious to, having been watching from a place close by undetected, slipped through the trees and followed on along in close pursuit.

* * *

A solitary figure stepped out into the Glade, having been meticulously patrolling the vast ranges of his territory with increasing vigilance since the fighting had escalated in earnest, and though successful in his endeavours found the challenge of keeping his home intruder free a frustratingly continuous one, had come to the open area for both respite and to better gauge the battle at present, lowered himself onto the grassy floor, casting a baleful glance towards the sky, where the sounds of angry roars danced across the heavens, flashes of orange and red sporadically cutting through the charcoal darkness. Long having ceased holding any interest in the world outside his domain, saw no merit in associating with the rest of the other Dragons or their petty affairs, largely finding them to be beneath him entirely, had every intention of sitting back and observing from afar as both sides of this asinine conflict destroyed each other, and all for the sake of something as unworthy as humans. But as the violent dispute progressed, it was to his swiftly deepening displeasure to discover that not only had they changed the location of the battlefield (the vibrations under his paws confirming their unwelcomed closeness) but also a couple of sneaky little vermin had the audacity to have crept in and was now hiding within his forest.

The sheer effrontery these despicable little nothings had dared to show made his scales itch with fury, the challenge they had so arrogantly delivered when brazenly roaming his dominion, tainting the sanctity of the woodland with their unclean presence was one that would not go ignored, emerged from his lair to hunt out those who had dared trespass with frightening precision, flushing them from their deliberately chosen hiding places with the purposes of teaching the duplicitous little cravens the follies of trying to elude the consequences of their injudicious choices; it was one thing to fight for a cause, no matter how farcical it may have been, but it was another thing entirely to abandon it in favour of saving their worthless skins and so with the last of the lurkers forcibly and most painfully ejected - their sneering looks of angered humiliation only slightly making up for the time spent wasted on chasing them - he made his way to the broad area of flat land, where he waited now, as he lowered his head, for the time being, ceasing his glaring at the obscured and still very much unwelcomed invaders, returned his attention to matters of more importance and that was on finding where the next infestation would occur, already tuning out the rest of the unpleasant dissonance and immersing himself with a far more gratifying sound, eyes closing in contentment as the mellifluous thrum of the earth's very heart, pulsated affably beneath his paws.

There was little enjoyment he took from a world he had seen thrice over and thus had grown fatigued and dispassionate for, but the one constant that never failed to bring him an undeniable sense of comfort was the song of the earth; having been with him since he tumbled out of the nest, an visceral bond forming the moment when talon touched the floor, had proved to be an unfailing friend and invaluable ally throughout his immortal existence; there was no force greater he would entrust his life to, the ubiquitous entity the only power he never dared question and so naturally didn't hesitate when instead of the honeyed whisperings, hushed urgency was what greeted him, warning of the danger fast-approaching from his left and immediately pushed himself to his paws in time to witness a small human stumbling into the clearing looking overwhelmingly worse for wear and near dead on her feet, but never slowed and started to run despite the glaring injuries hindering her every step, the reason for such a jeopardous action came when the steady line of robust trees burst apart in a mass showering of wood, a mammoth figure tearing its way into the clearing after her, having been in close pursuit ever since its food had come to know of its presence and had run in a blind panic, the no longer obscured shadow wasn't about to let anything get in the way of the rightfully earned prize, easily kept pace with the wounded victim, a swiping of a paw, a flash of formidable claws and a scream was all it took as the small girl was lifted high into the air, coming to land with an audibly sickening crunch, her delicate body limp and motionless as spiteful laughter followed, drifting sinisterly around the open space the reptilian beast sauntering towards its conquered bounty; having finished toying cruelly with its prey, now about to lay claim to the spoils, paused when a shift in the air and the fast-rising awareness at the edge of its periphery finally exposed the presence it had otherwise failed to sense beforehand, instantly turning, an ugly snarl on its lips, ready to strike and defend its prize, only for its legs to swept from underneath its body.

* * *

Having gone unnoticed by the newcomers, the visible yet overlooked third party watched the scene as it played out unrestricted; passivity upon observation turning into blistering fury burning heatedly through his blood at what was transpiring right before him, the indignant swell of scorching ire, when he heard the small human scream in fear and then watching as she landed terribly, the strings that guided his next movements. For all his extensive dislikes in the world, if there was one thing he loathed above most, it was unnecessary slaughter, especially when it was for cruelty's sake, and so to watch this barbaric wretch derive pleasure from tormenting a child of all things, was the very lowest one could descend and given how it had struck blood within his home, insulting both him and his indirect hospitality, made the following events all the more easier.

The transitory mildness of the atmosphere was broken as both creatures crashed to the ground, feeling a heavy weight pressing against its side, the smaller of the two began to twist its head sideways, trying to discern its attacker, growls flowing freely from twisted lips, increasing in both noise and future malicious intent until a clawed paw came to rest on its flank, the lethally pointed tips digging in slightly, quelling its movements as a shadow blocked what little vision it had, its assailant finally coming into view as cold, harsh eyes met equally sharp and intensely unforgiving ones.

A suspended interlude locked both creatures in a fierce stare-off: one assessing its newly revealed attacker and contender for the food, the other, merely gazing at its downed opponent with revulsion and apathy strong within its unyielding glare, before the pinned beast began to struggle; its body twisting, it fought to shake off the insistent grip keeping it restrained, having fully realised that what had it trapped, was something it stood little chance of winning against. As a creature that favoured raw power, it might have risen above the rest of its Wyvern counterparts, but against its Draconic cousins, who stood leagues over all others, there was practically nothing it could do, especially in such a vulnerable position, with every attempt at breaking free being forcibly subdued by its vastly larger enemy who had managed to assert dominance over the situation with embarrassing ease.

The humiliation of its position coupled with all the natural pride and arrogance of its previous victories, all greatly amplified by the bloodlust high from the war, rapidly extinguished what small fraction of rational thinking it possessed, deprived of its most accessible weapons, the only element it had left was of surprise, and so with startlingly quick speed it lashed out, hoping to use the closeness of their bodies to its advantage and take its foe off guard, aimed to deal as much damage as possible, knowing the outcome of this interaction would be with its demise, the surety of which laid unwaveringly bare within its enemy's disdainful gaze, was determined to make it a difficult task and lunged for whatever was reachable, dagger-like teeth snapping recklessly and without restraint, unremitting savagery driving every attempted bite.

The Dragon scrutinised its thrashing captive, clearly now out of control and devoid of any coherent levelheadedness; not that he thought there was any there, to begin with, but with the monstrous hatred bleeding from unreasonable eyes he knew should even the slightest lapse in grip occur, the results would be disastrous and he had neither the time nor patience for wasting anymore of his energy on this savage, clearly stricken by the madness of its own bestial nature, (not even digging his claws into the tender flesh of its exposed belly was effective in calming its frenzied writhing) and knowing there would be no stopping its acts of sanguinary brutality should he apply the same methods of expulsion as he had done previous reached up and tightly grasped the Wyverns neck. The sound of angered snarls abruptly died away, replaced by gasping wet rattles as the Dragon threw its head back, trapped within its jaws lay the sinewy muscle of its opponent’s torn trachea. Glancing down, it was to find the now dying Wyvern staring up, each ragged breath pumping precious lifeblood from the crudely ripped hole decorating its throat, the inky liquid pooling underneath its body, the picture of absolute rage still etched heavily into its scaled features; it seemed it would go to the next life still the uncontrollable brute it had been here, its rapidly dimming eyesight watching as its remorseless killer spit the vital anatomy from its mouth, feeling blood coating its teeth, the pungent metallic taste permeating the larger reptiles mouth, a flash of disgust on its noble features, gave the rapidly failing Wyvern a final look of contempt before stepping sideways. Having concluded its business, saw no reason to bother with its soon be deceased lesser kin, choosing now to focus on the reason for its enthusiastic rampage, his gaze dropping to where the small human lay unmoving.

Regarding the insignificant little spec before him a fleeting inspection confirmed his thoughts about her injuries and that the unfortunate leg break wasn't the only one she had received, recalling how she safeguarded her right side prior to being struck, her arm was also broken, given further breakage by the harsh landing and now lay at an angle at her head; overall, the damage, while nothing he would have called entirely severe, surely would have been taking a toll on such a pitifully fragile constitution, the myriad of cuts and developing bruises would have also been playing their part in heightening the pain she felt, and for the briefest of seconds, felt something akin to relief that the child wasn't awake, as surely the noises would have been horrendous to endure. Having finished assessing her injuries and deeming them not as life-threatening as her current appearance would suggest, knew however that without proper treatment, the bones that would start to heal in a matter of hours, would set themselves incorrectly and no doubt leave her with a lifelong pain that someone so young didn't deserve, even if he was in extreme dislike of her species, he highly doubted she took pleasure in being chased like a panicked rabbit so undeservingly. Continuing to mull on her prone form dispassionately, a grim understanding taking over that given the distance from the Kingdom, and the lack of outlying villages close to his lair, a requisite of his territorial preferences, the task of aiding her fell to him; and before he could even begin to question why he was entertaining such a thought a harsh, disembodied screech broke through the bubble of his ruminations.

The jarringly antagonistic shriek had not come from anywhere close to their location, his ever guarded gaze searching all directions when the following howl, equally as hateful as the first directed his attention towards the skies, an enraged snarl tearing from the depths of his stomach as beyond the ashen clouds, he could perceive two very undesirable shadows as they clashed overhead, the warring beasts battled and collided above them, each impact of their formidable frames seeming to rouse the sky like thunder cracking ominously, foreshadowing the further misfortune that would follow; the near prophetic noises ringing true when a single roar filled with agony and malice, brought about the end of the conflict in the form of both combatants hurtling towards them.

Still inflexibly locked together, the rapidly freefalling pair were accelerating at a pace that allowed him no time to think, and given he wasn't the only being within their crash range, meant the liberty of waiting was no longer his to take and in an impulsively driven move (behaviour he had long since grown out of in his third century) scooped the unconscious child within his claws, mindful of her injuries, a final displeasing glance towards the oncoming intruders and the thought of retreating that angered him more, turned and vanished into the darkness, the convulsing tremors when the two beasts smashed down in a tangled pile of wings and limbs, giving chase as they slipped further into the distance.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap this has been a long time coming. 
> 
> I really, really struggled with this chapter, I don't know what happened, i just kept staring at it and nothing would come. No inspiration, no flow just pure and utter frustration which was partly the largest reason I left it alone for a while. Then real life got in the way and before I knew it, five whole months had gone by. 
> 
> But, I'm not giving up. Hopefully now this has been overcome, things will start to be easier for me, I say with fingers presently crossed, anyway, its a long one, just over the 5,000 mark but I think I struck out somewhere at the bottom and it became just a word filler by then; though I guess this whole chapter could be considered a filler, Like I said, it was an arduous battle to even do this and kinda made me question continuing, but here it is so please enjoy.
> 
> PS: If there are any mistakes, please ignore and try to overlook them. Punctuation isn't my best area, and I apologize if there is any you can see.  
\----

Having her slumber disrupted by the feel of something leisurely rubbing the side of her face, was admittedly, nothing unusual for the young girl, knowing it only her cat, whose years of extreme pampering and progressively unreasonable demands for food to be delivered in a timelier manner, had resulted in the rather unfortunate habit of being woken well before what she considered to be acceptable. Sleep cruelly sacrificed in the face of his nocturnal whims, and having long been aware that his care was solely her responsibility, was beyond any thoughts of regret as the lifelong enabler towards his spoiled behaviour, instead felt resigned to her position of personal servant, with an exasperated sigh breaking the silence of the room when she felt him rub against her skin again, though a fond smile soon followed as she reached up to pet him.

“Alright, Beauregard, I’m up … I am …” The rest of her words died away when her hand grasped onto something decidedly not her cat and her eyes snapped open in alarm, widening further when she was met by the most bizarre sight, rather than the neatly groomed grey coat of her Sumxu companion, a large cluster of overhanging grass lay inches from her face, the reedy tufts brushing across her cheek, mimicked the gentle caresses she usually received from her beloved feline, as she gazed at the emerald clumping for a few incredulous seconds, before shoving the tall patch away and scrambling to her feet. Now upright, her once limited view evolved into a broadened panorama and heart galloping underneath her ribcage, pounding uncomfortably against her sternum, realized that far from being in the warmth of her chambers like she had originally assumed, could only look on in speechless astonishment from her position within the heart of a sizable and stunningly viridescent grove.

Immeasurable bewilderment coursed through her, as she slowly took in the wooded copse with utter disbelief, the silence becoming prevalent as she carefully examined the timbered backdrop, still deeply bemused, tried hard to unscramble the tangled mess her thoughts had become in the face of the wildly unexpected scenario that lay before her, doing her best to clear the murkiness that clung to the inner walls of her head and left thinking a rather fuzzy task to accomplish, took a couple of absent steps back, trying to grapple with the dense haziness that seemed really insistent on lingering inside her skull, closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and evenly for a few moments, tried again to unearth an explanation that would shed light on her inexplicable presence within such a vastly unknown setting. Finally, after a considerable period of slow and deliberate contemplation, she touched upon the only rational conclusion that made any sort of comprehensible sense, especially when spying a couple of rabbits darting from the tall patches of grass and into the heavy undergrowth.

“I’m dreaming,” she announced to nothing in particular, “I am dreaming, and this is merely a figment of my imagination.” Nodding mostly to reassure herself, but eventually growing more confident with the answer, felt the initial panic begin to recede now that she had a logical anchor to ground herself with and so resumed perusing her surroundings with a more sedate eye. With her sufficiently a lot calmer than before, it wasn’t long before she started to feel an admiration for the creativity of her inactive hours, beginning to marvel the pleasant aesthetic vision she clearly had an eye for conjuring when asleep, as every inch of the fabricated environment was nothing short of sublime.

Great towering trees, (Oak, if she looked more closely) stood as sentry within the woodland area, unyielding and robust the titanic trunks were shaded the deepest of almond brown and displayed such healthy vitality that she couldn’t take her eyes away from them, having never seen such vibrancy from any tree before, not even those cultivated by the best gardeners, atop their colossal bodies, sturdy branches leaden with the lushest of leaves stretched heavenwards, the inflexible boughs all knotted and linked, the greenery weaved like patchwork to form a thick, verdant canopy that encompassed the clearing in its entirety, bathing the confines of the thicket with an agreeable shade and shielding the illusional landscape from the outside world. Not that there was one beyond what the hedged barriers encircling the bounded field was protecting, and yet puzzlingly streams of light filtered down from through the gently rustling foliage; luminous rays dappling the grassy surface, highlighted the innumerable flora that decorated every inch of the blanketed ground, showering the dazzling kaleidoscope with an ethereal glow that lent credence to their air of otherworldliness, and mesmerized by the enchanting vision, crouched back down to inspect the plant life further.

Slender fingers gently caressed slim petals, and she was unable to stifle the small gasp upon feeling just how smooth to the touch they were; it was like running her hand along the expensive swathes of silk the merchants often brought to the Kingdom, as she continued to stroke the small blossom, a baffled yet amused smile found its way to her face when she could have sworn the tiny bud to have moved of its own accord. As if trying to soak up as much of the contact as possible, the thin stem had seemingly bent towards her fingers, the little floret practically vibrating under her gentle touch and the puppyish action caused a giggle to erupt from her as she watched – charmed by the strange spectacle playing out before her. She knew flowers had some capacity to move by themselves, with certain ones tracking the movement of the sun, but never to this degree of mobility, still studying the diminutive little flora as it quivered enthusiastically with delight, but then remembered this was merely a dream and here anything was possible, so chose to ignore the details in favour of indulging the touch glutton little flower’s silent request for extra attention, keeping up a steady pattern before eventually resuming her previous examination of the clearing that now, under a more mindful scrutiny, seemed to come alive all around her, with a calm stillness slowly rolling in over the area, allowing her to think more clearly under the umbrella of peaceful serenity, before making the decision to go and explore the fabricated but overly spectacular setting, before she woke and it became too late.

* * *

And that was how he found her, having left the small child to heal in peace whilst resuming his overnight vigilance, the Dragon returned to his lair the following morning where he was soon greeted with the news that the young girl had at long last woken, and was now up and moving about, so made his way towards the furthest end of the mountain, traversing the network of tunnels until he reached the entrance that led to the concealed grove sitting adjacent to his home, emerging and pausing just at the mouth, sharp eyes scoured the width of the pocketed forest until he zeroed in on her amid the rather eventful task of identifying all the flora that lay scattered about. He watched quietly as she scurried about from one section of vegetation to the other, small mumbles that would have been incomprehensible to anyone without his exceptional hearing following in her wake.

“Star shaped head, can be found in all various colours, thrives in moist soil, so these are … Astrantia,” she paused, a brief look of thought crossing her features, before glancing in the direction of the patch closest to the trees, “But they’re also star-shaped,” another beat as she went over all in her mental repertoire, a small, pensive crease marring her brows before finally her face brightened with the answer she had been seeking.

“Then they would be the blue star flowers,” she finished happily, giving a small nod, confident with her answer, quickly moved on to analyse the next set. Her muted rambles brought a modicum of unexpected surprise to him, having not anticipated such knowledge from one who, by his standards, was barely out of the egg and therefore had thought little of her save for the injuries she’d sustained. In fact, he had thought nothing of the small child in any capacity, upon bringing her back to his home that prior evening.

Though in retrospect he didn’t with any human, given the unwavering belief they were naturally inferior creatures, didn’t hold them to much – if any – standard at all, only enough to pity their inherent deficiencies, including their vastly lesser intelligence; but as he listened to her list off each of the flowers in sight, complete with relating sub-species and where one might even find them, it occurred to him that perhaps there might have been the odd time where the seldom exception to that widely acknowledged rule occasionally popped up, and felt the even rarer stirrings of optimism that maybe he had found one such phenomena, thus ensuring the impending conversation wasn’t going to be as laborious as he had feared, renewed his path to where she had now turned her attention to the trees, as upon a second and even third glance, soon realized that not all of them were the oak she had primarily assumed.

“White coloured bark,” she reached out, fingers idly stroking the sturdy trunk that stood dissimilar from the rest, situated at the edges of a small pond she had been pleasantly surprised to see tucked away at the far end of the clearing, before pulling back, a thin layer coming off despite the gentleness of her actions, now sitting between her fingers, she inspected the small piece carefully, eyes flickering back to the tree, slowly examining the expanse searchingly before dropping to the lower half.

“Turning black as it ages, texture very rugged and the leaves…” her gaze lifted towards the foliage, “a distinctive diamond shape.” She glanced at the bark still clutched within her grasp, a quizzical expression clear on her face as she tried to think, ignorant to the spectator standing inches away observing.

“The Betula pendula”

“Well, at least you _are_ an educated one.”

The sudden and unexpected voice – a voice not exclusively her own, sent a jolt of abrupt panic rolling down her spine, immediately shot up and quickly pivoted on her heel intent on finding the source but tripped on her feet as they tangled in her haste. A loud squeal rent the air as he watched her flail in a desperate attempt to stabilise herself, to no success, before tripping and plunging bodily into the water at her side; the source of the voice continued to watch in great disinterest as the surface broke seconds later, the small girl shooting upright from the cold liquid, saturated and in shock, reached to wipe her sodden face before dragging herself towards the edge, moving as fast as her waterlogged dress would allow, flung herself forwards once close enough, managed to grip onto some reeds and pull herself up the small embankment, before hauling her body onto higher ground.

Looking every inch the drowned rodent and heart still galloping, she crawled a little from the side, hacking coughs racked her small frame as she attempted to expel the remnants of water trapped in her lungs, eventually able to clear her airways, breathed in deeply, and once she was sure she wasn’t in danger of choking again lifted her head and began searching for the mystery speaker. Eyes skirting back and forth before coming to the centre where she settled on the much recognisable sight of a massive forelimb stood mere feet from her, slowly started following the gargantuan leg upwards.

Halfway up she had to push herself back onto her heels to avoid straining her neck, (the limb seemed to never end) but eventually her gaze moved passed the leg and onto an immensely broadened torso, pausing momentarily to trace the lines of thick scars etched deeply into the muscle filled chest, continued her ascent until she was greeted by the piercing glare of what had to have been the largest Dragon she had ever laid eyes upon standing alarmingly close to her location. 

A decidedly unimpressed looking Dragon.

* * *

Having witnessed the rather unfortunate display, the reptilian newcomer dismissed the next few minutes as he waited for her to properly gather herself, his lip curling in disgust when she messily spat the water clogging her mouth crudely onto the grass below, before looking around in a bid to seek out the culprit who had caused her involuntary slip; once she realized his presence and their eyes finally locked, it was to his growing dismay that he observed her expression morph from one of shock to dazed astonishment, and was unable to quell the heavy sigh of frustration the unpromising reaction provoked, inwardly wondering if perhaps he had been too hasty in the assumption that this was going to be as straightforward as he’d hoped, when she suddenly spoke, the sound of her voice cutting through his bleak ruminations.

“This dream just keeps getting weirder,”

* * *

Heavy silence rolled over them as he processed her admittedly unanticipated statement, keeping his gaze firmly on the young child, studied her features carefully, trying to discern whether she was jesting, but from the look of honest bewilderment and inquisitiveness as she too regarded him just as keenly, it became clear that this was no joke. She genuinely thought this to be naught but an hallucination.

“You think this a... dream?”

“Well isn’t it?” she asked, turning to the task of draining as much water from her clothes as she could, squeezing her nightdress tightly, resumed speaking as nonchalantly as though she hadn’t just been thoroughly drenched. “Though I must admit, I do find it most unusual there would be a Dragon here, especially one I am not overly acquainted with. Belserion or Sealgair perhaps, but not one I have no recollection of ever seeing before,” she paused, a fleeting look of puzzlement taking hold, before her gaze slid back to his. “Might I enquire as to who you are?”

Despite having already deduced her origins to have hailed from the kingdom, her words blessedly reassured him that she had been around his kind long enough to feel comfortable in his presence, as being the only province that side of the continent to boast both humans and dragons as its denizens, it would have taken a dedicated person to avoid any and all interaction with their beastly neighbours, so her relaxed casualness and more importantly, lack of fear in regards to his company, even with his unknown status, made a few things a lot easier for him, as the young girl reached for her hair, having finished with the dress, twisted the silken strands between her fingers and wrung the water free before plaiting it off and letting it rest on her shoulder.

Once done, she finally turned back to him, posture immaculately poised and with a pleasant smile crossing her juvenile features, she presented the perfect picture of practised sophistication as she waited patiently for him to respond, which he did moments later, having already made the decision to play along until the mystifying issue of why she assumed everything around her to be a mere fantasy, was resolved, indulged her polite request and slowly inclined his head towards her by way of greeting.

“My name is Volos.”

Her smile held, still well-mannered and congenial, returned the gesture with all the grace afforded to one who had only ever had the best of upbringings and bowed her head in respectful deference. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mister Volos, sir. My name is Erza.”

Her courteous behaviour amused him somewhat, yet at the same time it pleased him to see a lesser acknowledging their standing in the face of such overwhelming superiority, it was a quality sorely declining in humans who these days were getting out of hand with their unrestrained selfishness and egotistical impertinence that had no business in a species so lacking, as he cast another glance back to where she was still sat demurely; perhaps such imbecilic peons would do well in taking lessons from this girl, though doubted their baseless pride would allow for them to be shown up by a child, even if her bearings indicated an elevated status among her kind, she was still far too young to be taken seriously, no matter who she was.

The ground underneath them trembled, having decided this conversation was best suited to be had in a more comfortable position, began to lower himself with the ground, with the young girl’s smile dimming upon observing his abrupt descent, knowing from past experience that it was in her best interests to get out of the way of a sitting Dragon – and fast, hastily scrambled to the side and out of range, barely avoiding legs serval times her size as they slid passed her and out as far as they could extend, the sound of a satisfied groan following seconds later that resonated around the area, as the Dragon felt the pleasurable strain on his muscles, sighed again in contentment when he unsheathed his claws and dug them into the solid dirt below, the surface instantly giving way under such pressure and delighting in the sensation of his beloved earth as it enveloped his claws, welcoming them like old friends. 

It wasn’t until a small giggle shattered the growing ambience of tranquillity that he looked down to where the small child had inched her way closer once more, and was now sat by his side, his brow arching quizzically at her unexpected gaiety, a far cry from the polished decorum she had just moments before displayed so effortlessly, as their eyes caught and she smiled brightly up at him.

“You remind me a little bit of Chestnut when you did that,”

“Is that so?”

She nodded and carried on chattering, oblivious to the indifference lining his tone. “He enjoys the dirt to, though is more inclined to roll around wherever there are large mud puddles. Very much like a dog really, in fact, its why we call him that, because we aren’t entirely sure brown is his real colour. . .”

Her speech was slowly drowned out by his thoughts as he internally frowned at the insinuation, he was anything like those ludicrous fools, pathetic enough to have made their homes by the side of humans. Playing nice and acting the part of domesticated pet rather than the rightful dominant forces nature intended them to be. It was an insult to even think such nonsense, and though he doubted she meant any harm by them, words spoken by one who only knew a fraction relating to his magnificent species, he would have to rectify her fond reminiscence with immediate haste; for there was no other like him, and as for long as he was still around, there never would be.

His displeasure must have been more tangible then he intended, for belatedly realizing he was still meant to be listening brought to light the utter silence now encompassing the air, as having caught sight of the hard expression of annoyance she had ceased speaking and was now regarding him with the utmost wariness, caution alight in her eyes, she gazed at him carefully, her body slightly firm with apprehension and whilst he did enjoy seeing such states of dread on one he considered to be great nuisances, now was not the time to be indulging in her budding distress. There was still matters that needed to be resolved that weren’t going to fix themselves, perhaps once everything had been dealt with he would take the time to have his amusement, and with any luck provide an important lesson that not every Dragon was going to be as friendly as she had been unwisely led to believe.

With what he hoped was something akin to a reassuring smile, he crossed his front paws and tried to make his own stance as approachable as possible, having seldom been in the habit of being hospitable to anything not his food, he knew very well it might be an impossible task, as he craned his neck down, ignoring her sharp inhale at the sudden close proximity and spoke, his tone conveying all the slyness as though disclosing some great secret.

“Do you wish to know why he does that, little one?” She blinked, thrown slightly by the sudden nickname, but had no time to dwell on the epithet bestowed as he quickly demanded her attention once again, as she turned back to look at him, suddenly captivated by her own reflection she could see within the shining golden sclera of his unblinking eyes that seemed to radiate more experience and wisdom then even Belserion’s, who was widely renowned for his sagacious nature, slowly shook her head in response to the question, earning a deviously sharp toothed smirk in return. “It’s because he’s smart, he knows that Earth is by far the most superior element one can hope to be around,”

“Really?” If he had any doubts, she would remain wary, they were remedied upon seeing the trepidation recede from her eyes, with all traces of hesitation following as he spied the small slump in her shoulders as the tension there holding them up vanished, and that would have been fine, if not for the newly born scepticism he could now see swimming behind amber eyes as she faced him with a new mask of politeness. Her tone, now that the uneasiness between them had been dispelled and she had accepted him mien as one of geniality – even if it was veiled, - was demure and cordial almost to the point of detachment, as she carefully smoothened out her dress and gifted him a smile that was as restrained as his limited patience and as shallow as his efforts in being friendly.

Oh she tried to hide it well, in fact, for one so young it was almost impressive, the veneer of civility in which she held herself with was a skilled trait that would undoubtedly serve her well in the future; but it wasn’t anywhere good enough to fool him, and he wasn’t quite sure he liked such behaviour from a human he went out of his way to save.

“You think me false?” the last word leaving him in a trail of sibilant noise that had her stolid front wavering imperceptibly, and begrudgingly had to give her credit when she gathered herself not soon after, with the wait for her response having infuriatingly taken precedence, the need for retribution for such blatant impudence was almost an afterthought as their stare off resumed, with her finally drawing herself up a moment later, and slowly shook her head. “I wouldn’t dream of calling you a liar, for I have no reason to malign what you say is the truth,” her features still calculatingly arranged as she voiced her thoughts “But I do, however, find that I must respectfully disagree with your declaration.”

“Do you now?” Centuries of practise and a natural flair for the apathy, allowed him to keep what inquisitiveness might have arisen, out of his voice, though was a tad annoyed that the troublesome feeling dared make itself known after so long, refused to believe that one negligible little meatbag had managed to stir it into life, rushed the remaining distance between them, the corners of his lips turning upwards into a toothy grin when his actions garnered the desired results, his snout practically unbalancing her and watched gleefully as she fell backwards with a squeak.

Hearing his taunting chuckles, she lifted her head from her place on the floor and threw him a disdainful glare, not that he paid any mind to her break in self-possession, or her annoyance in general, merely met her scowl and cocked his head questioningly. “If that is the case, then would you mind humouring this old Dragon by telling him why that might be?” Pushing herself into an upright position, bit her tongue at the word that she knew was beneath her to speak, yet so very much wanted to say, having overheard the guards a few times, felt it fitting for this situation, instead patted herself down with a grimace and didn’t deign to look in his direction, knowing full well he was still swearing the smug grin, could feel the stare as he waited patiently until she finished brushing all the damp soil from her dress before finally looking back to him.

Witnessing the mild haughtiness slowly morph into tentative reluctance, as she deliberated on what to say, he remained silent, knowing that instilled propriety wouldn’t allow for her to refuse his request for too long; and his forbearance paid off, when she slowly opened her mouth and it was to his equal parts aggravation and amusement to discover her aversion to his claim of ‘being around dirt' was good for anyone was due to having been the once proud owner of a vast collection of dresses; now all ruined in one way or another by being near his much loved substance. Having been the victims of such messy tragedies, couldn’t be fixed by conventional means, therefore had regrettably become a waste of perfectly good fabric.

She simply hadn’t wished to insult him by thinking negatively towards an interest he was clearly passionate about, hence her reserved countenance earlier, having been adhering to the adage of ‘saying nothing at all,’ was content to keep that contrary to herself. Or at least, was attempting to, had he not insisted, and she was then obligated in kind to voice her opinion.

Her rambles about the futility of sowing - whatever the devil that was - slowly faded into the background as he mused on the inoffensive little spec that stood before him, and how he might have just been that little bit wrong in his unspoken judgement of her.

It wasn’t often (if at all) he made oversights, especially when it came to the likes of inherently flawed creatures such as human beings, having witnessed centuries of them growing ever more covetous and selfish, seeking only to take and destroy in a ridiculous attempt of supremacy, it was logical that such acts of philistine barbarism would foster a rather profound mistrust against them; especially during his first meeting with such uncultured brutes, when a nomadic group of hunters got it into their foolishly empty heads that numbers equated to strength, and that a lone Dragon was a prize simply too enticing to pass up. He had only been too aware of their plans to try and ambush him, thinking themselves clever by sneaking up during the night when he wouldn’t have been any the wiser. Such mindless plebeians, they never stood a chance, for no sooner had they crossed his threshold, he had them.

Hearing their bones break, and their raw screams of anguish was a pleasant symphony to his ears, their pathetic pleas and repulsive sobs for mercy only serving to make him angrier, and their delusions that such pitiful entreaties would sway his actions, even when beseeching they had families had not moved him in the slightest. And why would it, for they did not seem to consider that he too might have had others relying on him, that he also might had a family needing him for survival, had simply thought of nothing but their own vainglorious ambitions. Luckily no such burdens existed, but they didn’t need to know that, only to hear it and rue having ever allowed greed to blind their clarity, and whilst they had absolutely nothing to offer in terms of recompense, he had taken the only thing they had left and ended them for their ignorance

Once having meted out the appropriate punishment, he then disposed of the bodies, watching as their wretched remains were engulfed by the earth, hidden away in the furthest corner of his lair, never to be remembered again, listening to their bones as they were slowly pulverized into dust by the churning ground underneath, he vowed never to forget the transgression, for it had only confirmed his initial perception of such a devious lot from the outset.

That day might have been the only time he had ever killed any humans, but the confrontation served as an unambiguous reminder of just why he was right to dislike the repugnant race in the first place.

Setting nostalgia aside, quickly realized he had deviated from his original line of thought, so shook himself of the fond reverie, before returning to what had him at odds to begin with and resumed his observations of the yammering chatterbox at the base of his paw, still having absolutely no clue what she was talking about, merely nodded indulgently the few times she looked to him, before carrying on her spiel, allowing him to continue with his revaluation.

This might have been the first time he had interacted with her, and listened more than spoke, but just from this small exchange alone he could see there was absolutely nothing insidious about this small girl.

An excellently crafted pokerface, and an immensely proud bearing, yes, but possessing the aptitude for honest duplicity; perhaps he had allowed his own straightforward bias to cloud his reasonableness if he were accusing a child of all things to be anything like those vile savages. Even if they were kin, he knew there was no comparison.

So maybe the thought of being wrong just this once, in this little meatbags’ instance, wasn’t as horrendous as he imagined. But only this once. He was still dam right with his assessment about the rest of those purposeless nonentities.

Seeing her rub a hand across her eyes once her long winded rant about something or another finally came it an end, accompanied by a yawn seconds later, knew that their conversation was drawing to a close, and it occurred to him that not once had they even struck upon the issues that he had been intending to discuss now that she had awakened. Matters that _needed _to be discussed, and inwardly rebuked himself for having allowed time to pass by so inefficiently, when a slight weight on his paw had him glancing down, his jaw dropping the barest with uncharacteristic shock at the sight that greeted him.

Acting as though she had every right to be there, the young child lay curled atop of his paw, having felt the slow creep of fatigue come over her, had apparently seen fit to use his person as her own personal bed, sneakily clambering up the side where she now rested happily, as if her mattress wasn’t another living being who might have taken offence to her action. And affronted he very much was, how dare she act with such nonchalant and brazen temerity, what right did she have to look so peaceful when it came at his expense, felt the heavy scowl as it firmly engraved itself across his lips, an immediate swelling of dissatisfaction at seeing the unguardedness that had taken hold of her youthful features, as she fell deeper into a blissful slumber, blazing its way throughout his body at the grave crime that – committed against a being of his very excellence, he could not see go without penalty.

Reaching out with every intention of ejecting her from the spot she so clearly felt comfortable in, mild tolerance be dammed, went to grip the scruff of her dress, and toss her onto (a soft patch) the grass, his claws hovering carefully over her prone form when the sound of her speaking his name made him pause.

* * *

“Mr. Volos”

Rolling his eyes at the distinctly human title, he sighed but lowered his paw slightly, “Yes, what is it?” he asked, making sure to inject some gruffness into his tone, to inform her of his still immense displeasure; but it went over her head, as a short silence followed, with his gaze lowering to where she was curled up.

“. . .I had fun talking to you. I’m sad this isn’t real, I was rather hoping you were, and that you would be—” a yawn cut her off, before snuggling down as much as she could on impenetrable scales “you would be here when I woke. You’re far too nice to be imaginary. . .” before stilling completely as she finally succumbed to sleep and missing his reaction to her candidly childish remark.

He stared at her in quiet disbelief, brow arched high with equal scepticism, eyed her consideringly. He couldn’t recall a time were anyone had called him pleasant before, not even his own mother had said as such, though to be fair that came after she had attempted and failed at smothering him with the same affection she had shown his siblings, only putting an end to such mawkish displays of tenderness upon his vocal protests, later declaring him nothing but an irascible grouch. Even if that was said with a certain degree of fondness, he wasn’t sure he liked.

When the time came for him to leave the nest, he did so with keen enthusiasm, flying as far as he could with the only objective in mind, was that of finding the least populated territory to claim for his own; with many years spent roaming until he had happened upon the mountains, and painstakingly set about carving out the lair that they sat in today. It had taken time, but once he had established himself and others became aware of his presence, eventually his reputation for defending his new home without mercy began to proceed him and thus, garnered the much desired results, with any and all those with a modicum of preservation too terrified to even set a foot in his direction, leaving him with the solitude he had literally shed blood for. With that hard-fought seclusion lasting a full two centuries, until a few days ago, when it was harshly shattered, and he was left playing caretaker to a human child of all things. A child who had just naively considered him as nice.

Studying her as she rested, gently cradled within Morpheus’ embrace, he lightly snorted a moment later, the action rustling her hair and dress but otherwise didn’t disturb her. She clearly had no idea what she was saying, despite her obvious intellect, it seemed she was also impressionable to the facets of a Dragons total nature, having her perception of them limited by those happy morons she had lived with, only seeing the congenial sides and having no reason to fear them in the slightest. A big mistake really, for if she had been privy to the ugly sides those in the kingdom clearly concealed from their mortal neighbours, perhaps she wouldn’t have been so open towards him at the beginning, and if she knew even a fraction of what he had done willingly in the past, then she never would have associated him with the word nice. If she had known what he had done to her kind before, then she certainly would have ran screaming from him just like she had the Drake.

Shaking his head at her gullibility, decided to follow her example and get some sleep. Two days of endless observation and safeguarding his domain had left him exhausted, and he was going to need all the energy he could get for the upcoming conversation he knew, was going to be very demanding, throwing a final glance to where she rested, slowly traced the delicate softness of her features, made vulnerable by the passive hours sleep tended to bring. Such fleeting peacefulness, would without a doubt be gone by the time she woke; when she realized he was still there, and that happiness would be replaced by inevitable anguish and heartbreak as he ruined her fanciful illusion with the news that would irrevocably change her entire life for the worse.

There were no words to fully describe how unenthusiastic he was about such a task

Heaving a sigh that held all the days weariness, he settled his head by the paw she had claimed, closing his eyes and allowed himself to drift into the much needed respite, aided by the soothing melody of the surrounding wildlife, it wasn’t long before the pair slept in momentary tranquillity and undisturbed from the outside world, watched by the serene light of the moon that, for the first time since the hellish conflict began, shined brightly and unobstructed within the cold clear skies.

* * *

**A/N - Little edit **

  
  



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